Captain Hawley Lane in Leslieville to be named in honour of local resident and firefighter William Hawley

Longtime Toronto firefighter and Leslieville resident William Hawley is being honoured with the designation of a local laneway in his name.

Captain Hawley Lane is located east of Caroline Avenue running north from Eastern Avenue (northeast of the major intersection of Pape and Eastern avenues).

Now retired, Hawley served with the Toronto fire department for 35 years and according to his family is an avid reader of Beach Metro Community News.

Remarkably, Hawley served his entire career as a Toronto firefighter at one station – Station 314 at 3 Grosvenor St. downtown. According to the city report approving the naming of Captain Hawley Lane, the station was at one point the busiest in North America. Hawley retired from the Toronto fire department as a Captain.

According to the report:

“After six weeks of training in 1972, Mr. Hawley spent three months on a Flying Squad, moving from station to station to round out his training. Mr. Hawley got his first permanent posting at the Toronto Fire Department Station 3 (now Station 314) in 1973. He spent his entire career at the same station, which is rare for Toronto firefighters.

“Throughout his career, Mr. Hawley responded to 24,279 calls, all recorded in his logbook. All the calls he recorded helped provide direct emergency and lifesaving services to diverse communities. Mr. Hawley first served as an Acting Captain and was then appointed as Captain on July 22, 1993.

“Mr. Hawley’s twenty years of service earned him the Governor General of Canada’s Fire Services Exemplary Service Medal on May 27, 1993. He was later awarded a Bar to his medal for thirty years of service on August 14, 2003. Mr. Hawley retired on March 31, 2008.

“Mr. Hawley is well known in his community and has been involved in his community through many hockey leagues and fast pitch baseball. He joined the Toronto Fire Fighters War Veterans’ Association in 1990 and is a member of the Colour Party which processes flags in parades and community events. Mr. Hawley is also a member of Legion 1-42 (on Coxwell Avenue) and was involved with International Association of Fire Fighters and Local 3888.”

It is expected that formal dedication ceremony for the name of Captain Hawley Lane will take place sometime this fall.